A little-known superhero from the Marvel stable will make his entry in the upcoming Disney+ series Wonder Man. Yahya Abdul-Mateen, who played the supervillain Black Manta in DC's Aquaman movies, is plays the titular superhero, whose original name is Simon Williams.
Watch the Wonder Man trailer here:
The show will stream on Disney+ on January 27, 2026, and JioHotstar in India a day later. Wonder Man is expected to fill the gap following The Fantastic Four: The First Steps, before the next live-action MCU tentpole arrives.
Wonder Man is teased as a different take on the superhero story, with the official logline calling it a "love letter to filmmaking, acting, and Hollywood itself, as it follows Hollywood actor Simon Williams as he’s thrust into the world of superheroes, getting powers of his own, and becoming the superhero known as Wonder Man.”
At the New York Comic Con 2025, where the trailer was launched, Yahya Abdul-Mateen said, "As an actor, there's so much that goes into it. There's vulnerability, there's ego, there's hopes and dreams, there's ambition, there's the lonely road. As Simon, I get to walk that fine line and experience all of that. I'm really excited to share Simon's journey towards achieving his dream."
Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed the successful Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is the executive producer, aside from directing a few episodes, with Andrew Guest as the showrunner. Cretton's involvement is interesting given he is also directing the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day and a future Shang-Chi instalment, hinting at the two sharing a common factor.
Interestingly, Ben Kingsley, who played the fake 'Mandarin', a washed-out actor named Trevor Slattery in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi, is reprising his character in Wonder Man. His inclusion makes sense given the Hollywood-centric subject matter, and the general light-hearted nature of the show is expected to have. This gives us a hope of seeing a relatively fun show as opposed to the dark superhero shows that Marvel previously released.
The actor said the show is a tribute to Los Angeles and the industry that made the careers of many. "LA is emblematic of people's dreams in this whole wonderful entertainment industry. So, we were constantly fed by that wonderful working environment. It was a great gift to film it. We were amongst all these iconic echoes of the great Hollywood years, which are still perpetuated now."
The film's cast also features veteran actor Ed Harris, in addition to Demetrius Grosse, who has been cast in the role of Simon's brother, Eric Williams. The series will also see the return of Arian Moayed as Agent P. Cleary, who was part of Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Ms. Marvel series.
Wonder Man has an interesting origin story. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first showed up in the ninth issue of The Avengers comics as a supervillain but eventually reformed and turned hero, joining the good guys, fighting alongside the Avengers.